


Can't Figure You Out

by koenigs_bambina



Series: Why Can't I Romance Deacon? [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, How Deacon caught the feels, Original Sole, charmer - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 13:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6331093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koenigs_bambina/pseuds/koenigs_bambina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deacon meets and tries hard to unravel the mystery that is Cherry, but finds it nearly impossible to do so. Frustration and admiration find their way into The Railroad's slyest agent.</p><p>"...it was singularly unhelpful in pegging down her personality, and it was beginning to really piss him off. How dare she make him, him doubt his natural abilities?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Figure You Out

Deacon was finding it increasingly difficult to pinpoint his opinion of Cherry. Just when he thought he understood her intentions, she threw him a curveball, and he didn’t like baseball- mainly because he sucked at it. He was usually able to get a read on someone right off the bat, and 10/10 times he was right about that person later on. Okay… 9/10 times, because with each day, she shifted in his mind.

When he first heard about her, she was a rumor- a vault dweller from 111 had been spotted wandering around the Commonwealth. He thought she was a goner, a poor sucker who had been too afraid to leave their comfy bunker until curiosity overtook them. She would be lucky to last a week.

He started to keep tabs on her after she became the Minutemen’s General, realizing she was tougher than he first thought. But, a goody two-shoes regardless, jumping in with the deteriorating group of do-gooders. She was someone he could sweet talk intel and resources out of, no problem. 

But before he got the chance, she became a Knight within the Brotherhood of Steel. Huh, so she was the enemy.  _ Shame,  _ he thought, he would have hoped that she would be smarter than to run with that group of meat-headed toasters.

Finally, she did the impossible- she showed up at HQ, no idea of what she had just entered into. She had just stumbled in, spinning a story of how she heard that the Railroad was her best shot at getting into the Institute.  _ What does she want with The Institute?  _ Deacon listened from the shadows, his curiosity ever-growing. Dez explained to her what the Railroad was, and their mission to save synths from the Institute. He waited for the inevitable response of “Synths are the scum of the Earth. Anything non-human must die. Ad Victorium and all that shit.” But it never came.

“That’s amazing! I didn’t know that anyone saw them as anything more than a threat. I’m glad to know that I was wrong.” 

Deacon nearly choked on his own spit in surprise- as did the giant asshole she brought along from the Brotherhood. So, she wasn’t the enemy? What the hell was she playing at? Either Deacon wasn’t as good at reading people as he thought he was-  _ Nah, that couldn’t be it. _ So she was just very sly with how she played things. Good for her.

He figured it was about the time that he popped in and actually met her for himself. After all, what kind of stalker was he if he didn’t even try to speak to her? He rounded the corner with his best poker face, and faltered upon seeing a curvaceous woman with elegant red hair- a smattering of freckles across her perfectly made-up face. Sure he had seen her before, in the many times he slipped on a disguise to tail her, but never all together. She was most certainly not the burly nerd with a snaggletooth and hellfire eyes that he had concocted in his mind. 

Well, shit. Maybe he  _ wasn’t _ as good as he thought he was.

“Deacon, who is this person?” Dez probed, snapping him back to his usual blasé self. Mystery or not, this woman could be useful to the Railroad. Why not keep her close?

“She’s kind of a big deal…”

And that was it, she was in. Cherry became Charmer,  _ and  _ Deacon’s partner. By chance, of course- it was not at all clever subliminal messaging to Dez, so that he might further attempt to figure her out. Not at all. 

But even so, Deacon was met with no concrete answers. 

Though she seemed to be a pretty open person- a trait that Deacon met with criticism and teasing lessons, he was unable to eke out what her intentions were- or what kind of person she truly was, because her actions sure as hell didn’t do anything to clarify.

She was quiet and polite when faced with Desdemona or any other faction leader, but she was raucous and bubbly with him. In fact, it could be said that she did more bits and pulled more pranks than he did- though she was terrible at following through.

With the Brotherhood, she followed orders and took on missions, risking life and limb for haptic drives- but when she was sent after synths, she somehow always managed to convince Paladin Danse to let them go, though he always looked like he was about to have a stroke.

She would refuse to shoot raiders or stray mongrels, opting instead to talk them down- in fact, on one very special occasion, she was even able to shame a Super Mutant Suicider from blasting the two of them into the next century. Deacon himself wouldn’t have believed it, had he not been there, totally  _ not  _ hiding behind a nearby telephone pole, mouth agape and sunglasses nearly sliding off his nose. Charmer indeed. However, when it came to stingwings and bloatflies- she would shriek, terror spurring her into some sort of psychotic exterminator. Pretty impressive when he considered the fear to accuracy ratio. 

But it was singularly unhelpful in pegging down her personality, and it was beginning to really piss him off. How dare she make him,  _ him  _ doubt his natural abilities?

Obviously people don’t fit in neat little boxes, but usually they fell into distinguishable patterns. Either they were friendly or aloof, brave or cowardly, strong or weak, a liar or… Charmer. They had been partners for nearly a month, and she took him everywhere with her, but Deacon was still at a loss. Where the hell did she stand?

His inner turmoil was quickly halted, his mind snapping back to the here and now, as Charmer bounded in front of him.

“And here we have Deacon, an elusive creature prone to zoning out while its partner pours her heart out,” she narrated, lifting up her fist as though she were holding a microphone, “it is unknown whether or not Deacon is born with a tiny pair of sunglasses that grow with it as it ages, or if they simply develop over time. One thing is for certain, though, if you ever come in contact with this creature, take nothing it says seriously. It is severely inclined to spin tall tales that naîve women believe at face value. In example: the recall code.”

She finished her report with a firm nod and spun back into stride next to him, beaming when Deacon turned to her with a reaction.

“Very astute- but I’ll have you know that I’m hurt by the last bit. It was absolute slander. My recall code is a real, extremely serious matter,” he sniffed, wiping away an imaginary tear to garner extra sympathy.

Charmer’s eyes narrowed, smile slipping into a sly smirk, “oh wow, you’re totally right- how could I ever believe that  _ you  _ were capable of lying? You obviously have  _ never _ told a lie in your life.”

“Damn straight, I haven’t.” Her expression remained unimpressed.  _ Better kick it up a notch _ , “I’m probably the most honest person you have ever met,” he affirmed with a nod.

That got her- Charmer’s amused expression cracked into a large grin and she doubled over with laughter, “you are so full of shit!”

_ Man, she’s cute,  _ Deacon thought, smirking at the overly amused woman next to him. She had this tendency to laugh at her own dorky jokes, and crack whenever she did a bit. It was sort of adorable how she could keep up with Deacon in terms of wit, but never in commitment. 

Charmer bumped into him playfully, twining her arm with his, causing warmth to blossom in his stomach...  _ Ah shit.  _ That’s probably not good. 

Dez would probably flip a table if she knew what he was feeling right at that moment. Come to think of it, he  _ would _ actually like to see that… maybe…  _ Nah, not worth the bodily injury. _ Oh well, he shrugged internally, this was just another thing to add to the pile of repression collecting in the back of his mind. Plus he hadn’t even figured her out yet. No sense in getting attached when she had every capability of stabbing him in the back. This feeling was just anxiety due to unresolved… something or other... The point was, it didn’t matter. Deacon had steel nerves, and the new girl wasn’t about to blow torch her way through them.

But as he looked back down at Charmer, finding that she had donned a pair of sunglasses and was mimicking his every movement, those nerves of steel began to fray, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

Who cared if she was a shifting anomaly? She was fun and talented- and pretty damn good at doing an impression of him. Pinning down her personality could wait. For now, Deacon just wanted to enjoy the moment- and figure out how the  _ hell _ she managed to grab the spare sunglasses from his back pocket without him noticing.

**Author's Note:**

> First Fallout fic! Though Paladin Danse is my sweet racist toaster boyfriend, I am currently obsessing over Deacon's wit and charm.
> 
> Hopefully this will turn into a much larger piece
> 
> Thank you to Kat for being my editor.
> 
> My Tumblr is koenigs-bambina
> 
> Comment with any suggestions or things you'd like me to write!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!


End file.
